Saturday, 10 December 2011

Forrest Festival

Had an absolute ball at the Forrest Festival the other week. Heaps of rain, but the trails held up well. Giant put me and a few others up in a really nice old church that is converted into a guesthouse. http://www.forrestchurchretreat.com.au/
4 Stage race, the first being a 15k XC loop. I had a good start, sitting in 4th, before my front wheel washed out and I got stuck behind heeeapps of people. There was very little fireroad, so passing was a nightmare, and I had to work hard. Finished in 4th, a few minutes back from Josh Carlson, Peter Kutschera and Ben May. The second stage was a hill climb, followed by a Super D. The hill climb suited me well, I got 3rd, and clawed back some time on 3rd overall, ~20 seconds. A good sign that my fitness is on the right track.

(Damian Breach Photography)
The Super D was ok, however pre riding the course would have been a much better idea, I flicked my Fox RP3 to open, and started in the big ring, only to have a short climb just around the corner. Silly idea, and I also got a stick jammed in my back wheel. Despite this, I managed to hit the fire-road pretty well, and rolled through in the 5th fastest time. Now the final stage was on Sunday morning, and I had a few minutes to pull back Ben. 50k's of sweet Forrest singletrack. Peter and Josh put a minute or so into the second bunch in the first 10k's. My plan was to make some space on the fireroad climbs. There were 4 of us riding together, and I was feeling good, until about 1hr 50mins, when my back started seizing up and my arms were giving way. Not enough time on the MTB or the Swiss ball! The others rode off and I rolled through a couple of minutes back. Not stoked, but not too fussed at the same time as the weekend was a heap of fun. And I got a lift home in this bangin car!

About this blog

Following the rapid rise in the standard of Cyclocross locally, I will be competing in my second season overseas in Europe. I'll be racing World Cups, some Superprestige and B-Post Bank Trophee races, filled in with some local races here and there. If all goes well, I'll be heading to Louisville, KY to compete in the World Champs in Feb!